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Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo go down, Timberwolves still take 3-1 lead over Nuggets

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The Athletic
2026/04/26 - 03:30 501 مشاهدة
Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksWhat Makes Up Championship DNA?Hollinger's Playoff PreviewPlayer Poll: Who is the MVP?Player Poll: Who Will Win Title?NBA Playoffs Aaron Gordon and the Nuggets are now in a 3-1 series hole. David Berding / Getty Images Share article31Despite losing two starters in the first half, the Minnesota Timberwolves moved within one win of advancing to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Behind a career-high 43 points from Ayo Dosunmu, the Timberwolves pulled away for a 112-96 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. The sixth-seeded Timberwolves will take a 3-1 series lead over the No. 3 Nuggets into Monday’s Game 5. Dosunmu made 13 of 17 shots, including all five of his 3-point attempts, and was 12 of 12 from the free-throw line. The Timberwolves were hit by disaster early on. Anthony Edwards, a four-time All-Star and the team’s leading scorer this season, left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury. Barely a minute into the game, fellow guard Donte DiVincenzo left with what a team source told The Athletic was a torn right Achilles. Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets’ seven-time all-NBA center, had 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. He was 8 of 22 (36 percent) from the field, his third consecutive game shooting worse than 40 percent. The Timberwolves were running right up to the trade deadline in February when president of basketball operations Tim Connelly pulled off a last-second trade for Dosunmu. He gave up Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller, two players out of the rotation, and four second-round picks to pry Dosunmu from the Bulls. It was a masterstroke move that paid off enormously for the Timberwolves on Saturday night. Dosunmu scored 43 points on 13-of-17 shooting, the second straight game he has posted a career playoff-high. He scored 25 points in the win over Denver in Game 3. With Edwards and DiVincenzo out with injuries, the Wolves were in desperate need of scoring. Dosunmu filled the bill, peppering the Nuggets with floaters, drives and 3s to carry the Minnesota offense. The Nuggets’ slow-footed defenders could not stay in front of the blazing fast Dosunmu all game. Once he got past the perimeter defense, Jokić had no chance at the rim. He sealed the win with 2:33 to go, when he lowered his shoulder, went straight through Murray and scored for a 101-92 lead. Connelly has a history of terrific trades since coming to Minnesota, and Dosunmu may have been his most important one yet. Dosunmu’s timing couldn’t be better for himself, either. He is a free agent this summer. Dosunmu heard “MVP!” chants as he finished his night at the free-throw line, a performance for the ages. — Jon Krawczynski Four games in, and the Denver Nuggets still don’t have an answer for how to handle Minnesota’s defense. The long arms. The annoying bumping. The never-give-an-inch tenacity of the Wolves has aggravated and distracted what was the NBA’s best offense in the regular season. Plain and simple, the Wolves have stripped more than balls away from the Nuggets: They’ve stolen their soul. The most fight the Nuggets showed was with 1.3 seconds left in the blowout when Jokić and Jaden McDaniels got into a skirmish. Jokić and Julius Randle were ejected after the scrum of pushes and shoves. Even with the Wolves’ starting backcourt out of the game with serious injuries, the Nuggets were never in rhythm, never in control and never comfortable in Game 3 or Game 4. Jokić was once again average. Jamal Murray put up points, but not efficiently. And the Denver bench offered only 16 points. It was no secret that this has been happening to the Nuggets. They talked between Games 3 and 4 about setting better screens, about hitting the Wolves with force, but there was little evidence they made any adjustments. The Nuggets will say they have been here before … winning two series in 2020 after trailing series 3-1, and beating the Clippers last season after trailing 2-1. But they have never been so stifled, so void of answers as they have been to these Wolves. The Nuggets might be getting wing Peyton Watson back for Game 5 — he went through an extensive pregame routine Saturday for the first time in the series, but it will take more than a good defender to overcome this series deficit. Perhaps coach David Adelman also turns to Julian Strawther — whose spark last season led a Game 6 win over Oklahoma City — but the first order of business will be finding a way to get space to operate. — Jason Quick Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms
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